Catchy title huh?
Over in the official forums there’s a really good thread full of lore and trolls that are picking apart the fact that Jaina Proudmoore will lead the Alliance forces into the Icecrown 5-man.
The resounding feeling from many is that they would rather follow a [basic campfire] into battle than trust their lives to Jaina.
For many, Jaina is a security risk. To them – she doesn’t have the Alliance’s best interests at heart. The fact that she has effectively worked with the Horde for so many years and formed a trusting relationship with Thrall is proof enough that she’s not fit to lead.
Others take a more moderate road. That she was willing to turn her back on her own father when he ignored an existing treaty and put forces ashore in Kalimdor was a devastating personal choice. She had to put the welfare of the world (really) before the her own desires. Her decision saved the Alliance (and the Horde) from another brutal and unnecessary war but came at the cost of her fathers life and the lives of the marines and soldiers he took into battle. They also remind readers of the fact that it was in great part due to her actions that Archimonde was defeated at Mount Hyjal.
Yet despite what had to be agonizing personal choices to step away from friends and allies when she feels the greater good is being served elsewhere, Jaina is getting painted as a wishy-washy whiner that doesn’t know where to stand. There were even a few forum goers that claimed to support Arthas’ decision to purge Stratholme and gave her the business for walking away from the prince. Hell, to some in the thread, the fact that she teleported King Varian and his troops out of the Undercity before the furious Alliance king could start a fight with the battle weary Thrall was proof positive that she didn’t have the Alliance’s best interest at heart. After all – as powerful as she is – if she’d come to Varian’s aide at that crucial moment, even Saurfang’s godzilla like cleave attacks couldn’t have saved the Horde leader.
And now – at the end of things – just as the Horde and Alliance are trying to pull down the walls of Icecrown to get to the crispy Lich Kingey center – Jaina shows back up – ready to lead the Alliance into that heart of ice and death to (and I quote) “find a flicker of Arthas’s soul locked somewhere within the Lich King”.
Yeah – it’s that flicker that has folks worried. If Arthas flickers somewhere in that dungeon – if she stays her hand in the battles to come – what will it mean for the Alliance?
What does it mean to you?
Shock and Paw 
I would prefer to follow Lady Proudmoore than King Varian. Yes, it is likely that she is motivated by a desire to ‘save’ Arthas – something which may not be compatible with defeating the Scourge – but she has shown in the past that she’s able to make difficult calls in the best interests of Azeroth. King Varian Wrynn doesn’t seem to act in the best interests of the Alliance, but in the best interests of King Varian Wrynn.
The Lich King and his Scourge armies threaten to destroy everything. But Varian blames Bolvar’s death on the horde (despite the horde forces that died fighting right alongside him), and he was mistreated by some orcs, so we will have war with them as well! A force that is willing to temporarily work with us to defeat the Lich King becomes an enemy. Yeah, let’s fight a war on two fronts because the King doesn’t like Orcs, that makes lots of sense!
You’ve summarised the forumites views, Windpaw, what’s your take on the situation?
It’s actually really funny, I told my boyfriend about this the other day. Knowing he is a MAJOR Sylvanas fanboy, I instantly assumed him to go on a tirade about how Horde totally got it cooler this time around.
Instead, he said “Actually, following Jaina around for this would be a lot more interesting than following Sylvanas around.”
His reasoning is that Sylvanas is a straightforward REVENGE thing whereas Jaina is deeper and more complex.
I’d have to agree – understanding Jaina’s past with Arthas makes for a much more interesting dynamic. Sylvanas just wants to use the LK’s skull for a cereal bowl and while the rage is sure to be entertaining – it’s ultimately predictable. What might be cool is seeing a reversal of roles inside – where Jaina becomes hell bent on ending her former boyfriend and Sylvanas finds herself suddenly in desperate need to protect Arthas. Who knows – perhaps her rebirth as the Dark Lady is somehow tied to the Lich King and ending him – perhaps ends her? Or – something much less dime store novel and far more twisted is in store?
Are you kidding me durkonkell?! King Varian is the ONLY one who is actually responding to the attacks on his people and is saying enoiugh is enough, you just percive that he is only out for himself because yat is what you WANT to see, when it is far from the truth, King varian wrnn has more than enough cause to go to war, hell in our world people go to war for far less reasons, in warcraft, the Wraithgate was like 9/11 to the Alliance. and then seeing the shit going down in the undercity, is bound to make anyone go into a rage, what the forsaken have been doing to Humans regardless of thier nationality would be comparable to what the nazies have done, and yes I know your going to go into the whole godwyn’s law thing but really no one else in history has ever done such shit like that before to human beings. anyway King varian Wrynn is the Single best Leader for the Alliance , he gives it a backbone, he gives it a reason to survive instead of huddling in thier homes waitng for death, he give ocourage to the Alliance and inpires them to shout out to the world and all of its enemies that it will not go out without a fight, and it will not be made into anyone’s bitch for thier amusement or exploitation, so countery to your beliefs KVarain IS looking for the best interests of the Alliance, because he is choosig to attack the enemy and stop the attacks instead of always being on the defesinsive. he is looking out for the good of his very species as well, while jaina is not, she wants to play hero, while Varian is actaully doing his job as a king, and that is looking out for his people first and foremost, and standing by as your people are killed off is not considered a good thing. and King Varian has tried many times to make peace with the horde as well, he went to theramore to discuss the ashenvale wood lumber incidents, and he sees his slaver in front of him as an adisor to thrall and he sees garrosh he is more like dark horde material than new horde material and what happens? he is almost assasinated along with his son by garona and how is Varia nsupposed to know that she is brainwashed or something hmm? unlike us the players he doesn’t have god-like knowledge of the game lore, anyway to continue, with the attempt on his life as well as all the attacks upon the Alliance in the past 5 years, combine that with the Wraithgate incident, the Undercity incident, and the broken front incident as well, you wuld have to be in total denial to not see that war is coming and that Varian is in the right.
pardon the wall of text, I was in the moment and I forgot to give my speech paragraphs.
i love jaina so much she is a good leader and takes a good part in Arthas: Rise of the lich king. that book made me mad when he turned evil and jaina and arthas had such a good life together i blame muradin for screwing it all up. I love jaina and hope she rules the alliance and takes varian’s place.